Members of the South Downs Youth Orchestra hope to be heralding the arrival of spring with the concerts as they stride out to various churches on the South Downs for a sponsored walk and play event.
Formed back in 1989 and part of the East Sussex Music Service, the orchestra will tour various Downland churches to give performances of music by Mozart, Handel, Beethoven, Schubert and Benjamin Britten – all in one day.
The young musicians aged 12 to 19 come from in and around the area now designated as the South Downs National Park and in their day-long tour of various churches they will also be visiting the oldest tree, the Long Man, and the smallest church.
The performances will culminate in a final concert in Alfriston. This concert will also include 'Three Downland Songs' composed by Dr Tony Biggin, Director of East Sussex Music Service. These have been written to celebrate the designation of the newly formed South Downs National Park.
Admission to the various concerts is free but members of the orchestra will be raising sponsorship funds from their walk and play which will be donated to church funds. Collections will also be held at each event.
The event will take place on Saturday 27 March and will see performances at the following churches:
- Folkington 10am (strings)
- Alciston 10.30am (woodwind and brass)
- Wilimington 11.30am (strings)
- Berwick 12.30pm (woodwind and brass)
- Lullington 2pm (strings)
- Alfriston 3pm (full orchestra).
Councillor John Barnes, Chairman of the Music Service Management Committee said: “This is a really imaginative idea. It will allow the young musicians to make music in some glorious settings and give the people of East Sussex a chance to enjoy their work in the churches of which we are so proud. I hope people will be generous in their sponsorship and come in their hundreds to celebrate a musical coming of spring.”
The orchestra is part of the East Sussex Music Service, a County Council service which provides music tuition and teaching alongside a whole host of concert groups, choirs, wind bands and ensembles.
Further information
The young musicians of South Downs Youth Orchestra come from in and around the area now designated as the South Downs National Park. The orchestra was formed back in 1989 as part of East Sussex Music Service, and are proud to live in the locality of this great natural landscape. Members are aged between 12 and 19 and attend local schools and colleges across the region. They rehearse each Friday evening in Lewes and give concerts across East Sussex and beyond. They have played at prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and St John's Smith‘s Square in London, and more locally at Glyndebourne Opera House, The Brighton Centre, the Congress Theatre in Eastbourne, the Assembly Halls in Tunbridge Wells, and the Town Hall in Lewes. In 2007 they travelled to Ireland giving successful concerts in Cork, Killarney and Lismore.
The orchestra performs a wide range of classical music including overtures, symphonies and concertos. They have also premiered a number of newly commissioned works specially written for them. In June this year they are performing at Lewes Town Hall, playing Beethoven's EgmontOverture, the famous Grieg Piano Concerto, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No 6 in B minor 'The Pathetique'.
The strings of the orchestra will perform some of the Simple Symphony by Benjamin Britten, and Percy Grainger's Shepherd's Hey and Molly on the Shore. They will be walking between Folkington, Wilmington and Lullington churches, giving short concerts in each church. They then walk on to give a final concert in Alfriston. The journey for the Woodwinds and Brass will take them from Alciston to Berwick, and then on to join up with the string players in Alfriston. Their concerts will include music by Mozart and Handel.
The final concert at Alfriston Parish Church will include some of the music played in the earlier concerts, and also a movement from Schubert's Unfinished Symphony.
Entry to all the concerts is free, with a collection towards church funds at the end of each concert. The young musicians will also be getting family and friends to sponsor them for the walking. Again, the money raised will go towards church funds.
Reference:
2743
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East Sussex County Council